I haven't been able to get confirmation, but I'm hearing the USFS is going to start getting rid of leaves as well, thus ending the foliage season.
OMG that was funny.
Bernerbabe said:
...is the Perimeter Road at Acadia the main road that goes around the island? I've only been there once, and it was years ago. How exactly would they block that off?
There is a gate (multiple ones actually) and it is closed. Apparently the Rangers are pretty rude at people asking about the status, to the point of calling them names. I have not heard this firsthand, but on a reliable account. They are still letting cyclists, walkers, and rollerbladers in at the present time and it is still staffed at the gatehouse. BUT, when it was closed this past spring the wife and I took our bikes there for some enjoyment, and they still charged people to get through the gate onto the park road. We stayed at Blackwoods and thus had a Park Pass already, but many who went to bike were miffed since all the news agencies (even on the TV) reported you could bike/use the road for free. Incidentally, Blackwoods has been cleared out of all campers since it resides technically within the Park. They are even
citing people found in the Park.
"
The Recreation.gov website is not available due to a lapse in funding for the federal government. As the situation evolves we will provide additional information about how our services and reservations may be affected. For now, the site is temporarily unavailable. We invite visitors to return to this site for additional information after this situation is resolved. Please click here for additional information."
This is not about money, don't think for a minute it is. It's about a message.
* The Navy-Air Farce (I'm Army) game was cancelled due to the government shutdown, but people at the top complained that not only is it funded through private donations, it generates over $4 Million in revenue.
*
Lake Mead residents, who own their homes, are evicted because they are on federal land.
*
NPS Orders Closure of Park that Receives No Federal Funding: “You do have to wonder about the wisdom of an organization that would use staff they don’t have the money to pay to evict visitors from a park site that operates without costing them any money,”
*
Shutting down the VIEW to Mt Rushmore, "...he had seen photos of the coned-off viewing areas, and he said it’s “outrageous” if federal officials are barring people from pulling over and
taking pictures from the highway." The state asked the Feds to remove the cones from their highways, and they did remove some of them.
And the mess goes on...and on...and on. So it's not about the money, it's about sending a message. That message is power, and they want you to know they have it.
Wisconsin is telling the Feds "No" and
keeping their parks open. "Despite receiving a closure directive from the National Park Service, Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has decided instead that parks partly funded by the federal government would stay open to the public. In the wake of this week's federal government shutdown, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also placed barricades by a boat launch on the Mississippi River because it was on federal land. Wisconsin’s natural resources agency reopened it."
